Archive for January, 2016

North Korea has just annihilated Seoul, South Korea with a nuclear weapon. Led by Germany, Europe, still struggling with a tidal wave of Syrian refugees, throws up its collective hands and demands the United States do something. China, paralyzed, is silent. Russia’s Vladamir Putin wags a finger at North Korea while blaming the U.S. for driving North Korea to desperate violence. As the radioactive dust begins to clear, the world can now see that a large section of Seoul is in ruins and 500,000 people are dead or dying.

Across the United States, all eyes turn to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC for a word of encouragement and leadership from the “leader of the free world.” President Donald Trump, perfectly coiffed, steps behind the podium and without hesitation begins a bellicose address —

“Can you believe it?!? Now those Koreans are killing each other! But don’t worry, that’s over there and we’re over here. I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, though, make them pay for the cleanup of any fallout the drifts this way.”

A hand is raised within the mass of reporters gathered in the White House press room.

Third reporter: “What will be the United State’s strategic response to North Korea’s unprecedented use of nuclear arms against our long-time ally, South Korea?”

Trump: “We don’t need to respond—Not our problem! They’d just better keep it over there and not mess with us or I’ll fire them permanently! Besides, this is good for us. Those Koreans are no longer economic competition. This ought to make the tree-huggers happy, too. No Korean factory production—no pollution. Next. . . ”

In the War Room, a hastily convened Joint Chiefs of Staff are mostly silent exrept for a murmur at one end of the room—“Well . . . He speaks his mind.”

The ones I am speaking of are those enshrined by our founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. These are the same that are apparently fungible for presidential candidate Donald Trump.

As CNN reported today about an incident at a Trump campaign rally in Rock Hill, SC —

“Rose Hamid [a Muslim wearing a hijab], a 56-year-old flight attendant sitting in the stands directly behind Trump, stood up Friday during Trump’s speech when the Republican front-runner suggested that Syrian refugees fleeing war in Syria were affiliated with ISIS.”

Her protest was silent. No yelling. No insults. Just silence.

She was then escorted out of the building; forced to leave by local law enforcement.

“Major Steven Thompson of the Rock Hill Police Department told CNN Hamid was kicked out of the event because the campaign told him beforehand that “anybody who made any kind of disturbance” should be escorted out.”

Really?!? Standing silently was a disturbance?!? According to the report, the ruckus that arose after Hamid took to her feet were Trump supporters behaving badly. In contrast to the silent Hamid, they remained welcome.

While I understand that a candidate’s campaign rally is not a place a candidate and his/her supporters want to face opposition or protest, but this incident makes we wonder how Trump would deal with dissent if elected president. Would he contrive some executive action silencing such dissent in direct violation of the 1st Amendment? Would the most strident critics find themselves accused of sedition or treason?

Just as concerning, because I believe character matters in leadership, is the implication that Trump has no tolerance for dissenting opinion. Instead of engaging with the politely protesting Hamid, he had her removed, in effect saying, “I will not listen to you; I cannot be your president!”

I suspect that five minutes into a discussion about the ethics and social conscience of Jesus Christ, he would have me thrown out too.